Two petitions are in play to block a Texas based company from building an energy storage facility in rural Saline County.

Saline County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes joined in on the KSAL Morning News Extra with a look at a range of issues including an update on a proposed conditional use permit for the Plus Power company to build and operate a standalone energy storage facility near Southeast of Saline K-12 school.

Smith-Hanes explained two major concerns for citizens who live in the area – the first being the optics of storage containers spread across an 11-acre plot north of K-4 Highway near E. McReynolds and S. Simpson Road. The second centers on health concerns for nearby students at SES.

Smith-Hanes added the model for the facility is to grab energy off the grid when power is cheaper, usually during overnight hours and store it for times when more electricity is needed on the grid. “There’s a sort of public benefit to this in terms of grid reliability,” he said.

A decision on the project going forward is expected early next year.

According to Plus Power’s website: “Standalone energy storage is rapidly transforming the U.S. energy markets, because it is cheaper than new natural gas plants, faster to build than fossil peakers or transmission, and able to perform diverse energy services.”

Listen to the expanded discussion here:

Photos via Plus Power’s website.